Spring statement: Sheffield steel firm Forged Solutions Group calls for government help over 'meteoric' energy price rises

Forged Solutions Group is calling on ministers to bring in subsidies or remove tax burdens because the increases in electricity and gas prices are too big to pass on to the customer.

Bosses spoke out ahead of the Chancellor’s spring statement on Wednesday in which it is hoped he will tackle the energy price and cost of living crisis.

It comes after Liberty Steel workers in Rotherham and Sheffield put up billboards shaming Boris Johnson over a pledge to cut energy costs if they voted for Brexit in 2016.

Forged Solutions - formerly Firth Rixson Forgings - employs more than 400 at sites at three sites in Sheffield - Meadowhall, River Don and Ecclesfield - as well as Darley Dale and Blaenavon in Wales.

The company, one of the UK’s leading specialists in high integrity forgings, made a £6m loss in the pandemic but has since bounced back due to demand.

The firm has invested more than £3m in CNC machining and testing facilities and needs 25 new staff.

In December, it spent $1m refurbishing its 25-ton Beche Counterblow Hammer.

President Ben McIvor said: “The single biggest challenge for our business is energy. You simply could not have predicted what we are seeing and there are very few, if any, businesses who can sustain the meteoritic rises we’re having to endure.

“Our consumption is very intensive, and we are facing a significant increase in our energy cost rates compared to recent years.

“You can’t pass all of this on to the end customer, so you are then found looking at alternative solutions and this is where I feel the Government really need to step up and offer possible solutions.”

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A large part of the company’s work is in aerospace, with its forgings used as shafts, rings and discs for engine parts, as well as in landing gear and structural components for the main body of aircraft.

It also serves the energy production, underground mining and off-highway vehicle sectors.

The company is a member of the 200-strong Confederation of British Metalforming.

Chief executive Geraldine Bolton said it was time for the industry to ‘stand up and start shouting’ about the challenges they faced.

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